


Two Steps Back

by MirandaTam



Series: Fake Maes AU [6]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blackmail, F/M, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Imprisonment, Interrogation, M/M, Maes Hughes Lives, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22667878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirandaTam/pseuds/MirandaTam
Summary: ... One step forward.Envy interrogates their prisoner on an especially sensitive subject.
Relationships: Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes/Roy Mustang, Maes Hughes/Roy Mustang
Series: Fake Maes AU [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625317
Comments: 7
Kudos: 59





	Two Steps Back

**Author's Note:**

> I'm blaming this one on Crissy and Books.

Footsteps – loud ones on the metal corridor outside his cell – echo down to him long before they actually appear. Maes could stand up to greet them, maybe, but that might show a measure of respect, or tell them that he's feeling defensive. Instead he stays seated on the bed they've given him as the footsteps grow louder and closer. His captors don't care about sneaking up on him; why would they? If it would get them something, Maes is sure that they'd do it in a heartbeat, but as it is they have nothing to gain from surprising him.

Maes revises that opinion when Fuhrer Bradley steps into his cell.

Deep breaths, Maes.

Two options here, really: either the Fuhrer has been in on this from the start (given the history of the country, probably true) or Envy is trying to screw with him again (given what Maes has learned of Envy, almost certainly true).

"Envy," Maes says with a faint smile.

Bradley's nose wrinkles, as if he's either smiling or grimacing. He doesn't say anything, though, before stepping into Maes's cell – revealing Envy behind him.

Shit.

However much Maes had thought about it, about the conspiracy and these homunculi and their country-wide transmutation circle, however long he'd spent thinking about how this must go all the way to the top, he hadn't  _ really _ thought that Fuhrer Bradley would be a part of it. The man has a  _ family _ , has a wife and son, and – well, maybe that's why he's helping these homunculi. Maybe they've promised his family eternal life, or some such nonsense. Maes can feel the smile dropping off his face; his own fault, really, for assuming he'd guessed correctly, for thinking that he'd gotten the upper hand for once.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," Bradley says. "I hear you've been doing well, given your circumstances."

"Sir," Maes says, lacing it with as much venom as he can manage. "I can't say I was expecting to see you down here."

"No?" Bradley raises an eyebrow. "Interesting."

Envy grins, teeth sharp and gloating, leaning over Maes, and he wishes for a moment that he hadn't stayed sitting down. "Hah! You hadn't guessed that part yet? Well,  _ Lieutenant Colonel Hughes _ , let me introduce you to my brother – Wrath."

Maes doesn't – quite – gasp. He grits his teeth and clenches his fists, but that's a reaction, too, one that Envy and – and  _ Wrath _ both see.

Envy laughs in his face.

"Envy," Wrath says calmly. "I don't have all day. Let's get this over with."

Maes glances from Wrath to Envy, then back again. Wrath catches his gaze, and – if he's a homunculus, then there's no way his eye is actually missing. So why–

Wrath answers his unasked question by reaching up and removing his eyepatch, revealing a familiar mark inscribed on his iris.

"My Ultimate Eye," Bradley –  _ Wrath _ , he has to remember that – Wrath says. "With it I can see all my opponent's weaknesses and vulnerabilities." 

All right. Okay. So basically Maes is fucked. Any vulnerabilities, any hesitation, any misdirection, Wrath will be able to see in a heartbeat. This, after all this time – why  _ now _ ? What's changed?

Wrath seems to have the same questions, because he glances back to Envy. "Is this really necessary? You've been doing fine on your own so far. I can't be away from Central Command for long."

Envy doesn't reply to Wrath directly –  _ interesting _ , Maes notes in the back of his mind,  _ Wrath definitely isn't at the top of the homunculi's pecking order _ – they lean over Maes again, crossing their arms. "You forgot to give me a few  _ key _ details back at the beginning," they say. "How long have you been sleeping with Mustang?"

Maes can practically feel the blood drain from his face. Shit, what had Roy done? What had  _ Envy _ done? What will be believable – "Not long. I – I didn't realize–"

"Lie," Wrath says, sounding almost bored.

Ah, fuck.

Envy looms, and – Maes can't help flinching away, trying to push his chair back, but he's not in a chair, he's on his bed, and he can't help wondering if Envy had gotten Roy to bed, gotten him undressed and gentle and  _ wrong _ . Maes feels sick, feels the horror curling up inside his gut, thinks  _ maybe if I throw up on Envy they'll leave me alone _ but most likely Envy would just take more pictures of themself playing with Elicia, sitting with Gracia, to remind Maes of how easy it would be to hurt them.

And that steadies him. One of the first things Envy had asked, after all, was for a believable excuse to avoid sex with Gracia; too risky, too likely to give up their game. So Envy hasn't been sleeping with Gracia, and they (hopefully, hopefully) won't have slept with Roy. But what  _ did _ they do – no. No, Maes, focus on the moment, focus on  _ what the hell you're going to say _ .

"First strike," Envy says, grinning their sadistic grin. "I'll be lenient and give you one more."

Maes takes a deep breath, and another.

"Hughes," Wrath says, still standing back by the door. "Answer the question.  _ Now _ ."

All he can say is the truth – perhaps not the whole truth, but nothing  _ but _ the truth, unless… perhaps he can leave some things implied, see if that slips under Wrath's notice. "We've been on and off for a long time," Maes says. "Since we were roommates at the military academy."

Envy glances over at Bradley – at Wrath, at Wrath, at  _ Wrath _ .

Wrath just nods.

"All right," Envy says, looking back at Maes. "Does your wife know?"

"She does – she's all right with it. We've talked about how it would be all right if she found someone else she liked, for a similar friends-with-benefits thing, but she hasn't found anyone she wants." True, true, semi-true, true.

"Friends-with-benefits?" Wrath asks.

Shit. "It means–"

"I know what it means," Wrath says. He doesn't sound angry, but Maes almost thinks he can feel it, coming off of him in waves. "Would you use that term as an accurate description of your relationship with Mustang?"

"... No." So even semi-truths are out. "We're… close. Although not as close as we used to be," he adds. "Didn't get much of a chance when he was off in East City."

"Ugh." Envy grimaces. "Don't tell me you two are in  _ loooove _ . You humans are disgusting."

Maes can't help glaring up at them. "You–"

"Envy," Wrath says, his voice cold. "Stay on task."

Envy glares over at Wrath, but turns their gaze back to Maes quickly enough. "Will he expect you to ask him on a date, or something? If so, where?"

Maes considers this for a moment – but not too long. "Probably not, especially this time of year. Both of our schedules are usually too busy to accommodate something like that. I…" Better to say it; Envy hasn't mentioned whether his semi-truth earlier had counted for that second strike. "I do sometimes bring him lunch, on quiet days when not too many people are in his office. I don't always stay to eat it with him, though."

Envy makes a face, as though the idea of doing something so mundane as bringing a friend (or more than a friend) lunch is completely disgusting to them. "What kind of food?"

"Roy likes most things I've brought him," Maes says. "Sometimes I bring him something weird, like… oh, there was a time I brought him this Cretan dish–" Maes sees the look in Envy's eyes, the one that says  _ I might beat you up if you make me listen to one more second of your nonsense _ . "–But that's not very often. Usually it's just standard take-out."

"Fine," Envy says. "And… kissing. Will he expect you to kiss him?"

Maes closes his eyes, fights down the sick feeling in his stomach. "It's hard to say. Absolutely not if anybody else is around, or if we're somewhere somebody might walk in; and even if it's only us, he's not always in the mood. And he doesn't mind if I'm not always in the mood." Maes is trying to give Envy as many outs as possible, letting them avoid being close to Roy, keeping the homunculus as far away from Roy as possible.

Envy tilts their head to the side.

Maes decides that he doesn't like the look on their face.

"I wonder," they say. "When you two are together – what kinda stuff do you talk about?"

In the back of his head, Maes is still taking notes. There's not much else he can do to resist them.  _ The homunculi want more information from Roy than they're getting _ . Oh,  _ that's _ interesting. But now is  _ not _ the time to be thinking about that, not with Wrath in the corner watching him with eyes even more piercing than Hawkeye's.

Of course, in the front of his head, and the rest of his body, Maes still feels sick. Envy, in bed with Roy,  _ his _ Roy–

In bed.

Envy doesn't need to know how unlikely it usually is for Roy and Maes to make it all the way to the bed.

"We usually stick to light topics while we're in bed," Maes says, almost gagging on the words but forcing them out so that Envy doesn't pick some more pointed question to ask. "Casual wordplay, what good food we've had lately, maybe some office gossip. Not much more."

Envy narrows their eyes. "No politics? Nothing alchemical?"

"Not in bed," Maes answers honestly. On Roy's desk, sure, but not  _ in bed _ . "That's pretty normal for human sex, you know – a lot of us think that serious topics ruin the mood." 

Wrath shifts slightly, but doesn't say anything.

Envy doesn't seem to notice. "Your human ideas of sexual appeal are complete nonsense, you know."

Maes glances from Envy to Wrath and back again. "... am I supposed to answer that one?"

Envy ignores him. "Wrath, I'm good here. You need anything?"

Maes can feel Wrath's eye – both his eyes – staring at him, deep down, looking for weakness.

Well, here Maes is, locked in his cell, nothing but a repository of information that his enemies come to drag out of him bit by bit. At this point he's almost nothing  _ but _ weakness. Can Wrath see all the little lies he's told Envy? All the half-truths he's given, all the clues he's tried to hide in his words? Maes is almost too exhausted to care. The small piece of him, the part that still has the energy to care, the part that will never become exhausted, knows enough to let the exhaustion show. Let Wrath find the weaknesses he's looking for, so that he doesn't look deep enough for the strengths.

"Let's go," Wrath says. 

The cell door snaps shut behind him and Envy, a solid, familiar sound, after all these months. Maes can hear their footsteps echoing away, and then he is once again completely, thankfully, alone.


End file.
